


Sweater Weather

by eiramrelyat



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:28:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26795875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eiramrelyat/pseuds/eiramrelyat
Summary: It's the first day of school, and Peeta is nervous. Then he meets the pretty girl on the bus who he lends his sweater to. [Created for SoE Autumn 2020 on Tumblr]
Relationships: Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark
Comments: 16
Kudos: 79
Collections: Seasons of Everlark— Fall 2020, SoE: Autumn 2020





	Sweater Weather

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Seasons of Everlark's Autumn prompts on Tumblr. 
> 
> I'd also like to thank the wonderful jroseley for pre-reading this for me!
> 
> Enjoy!

“Okay, son, do you remember what we talked about?”

He thought about dad’s speech about making friends after dinner last night. “Yeah, I remember.”

Peeta fidgeted with the zipper on his sweater, refusing to make eye contact with his dad. They stood at the end of their drive, waiting for the school bus to break through the horizon.

Dad placed a hand on his shoulder, prompting Peeta to look up at him. “It’s going to be okay. Don’t listen to your brothers. Middle school isn’t as scary as they made it out to be, and you’ll be able to see Delly.”

“Is that Peet’s girlfriend?” Rye came up behind him, mussing up Peeta’s neatly combed hair. He stopped near the mailbox, shooting his younger brother a smirk.

“Rye, stop teasing your brother,” Dad scolded. “And don’t forget that you’re still grounded this week for sneaking out with Johanna.”

It was Peeta’s turn to smirk, and he watched as Rye’s face grew a shade of red.

The school bus pulled up a few minutes later, Rye being the first to bound up the steps. Peeta’s heart raced. His hands grew clammy, and he couldn’t help himself from noticing the eyes peering at him through the foggy windows.

Dad gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Don’t forget to walk to the bakery after school, okay?” his dad reminded him. He glanced up at his dad one last time, giving him a shaky smile and bobbing his head before he walked toward the bus. “Have a good first day!”

He avoided the annoyed look the driver gave him as he climbed the few steps onto the bus, claiming an empty seat he found near the front. Dad waved at him as they drove off, but Peeta slumped in his seat, hiding his warm ears beneath the hood of his sweater.

The bus drove down six blocks before coming to a stop in front of a small yellow house. A girl ran down the sidewalk to avoid the sprinklers spraying the lawn. By the time she reached the bus, her braids were dripping puddles of water onto her green shirt.

She took the seat across from him, clutching the straps of her backpack while she shivered.

Peeta didn’t think twice before taking off his sweater, then reached across the aisle to give it to her. She glanced down at it, then up at him, a frown turning her mouth. At first, he said nothing; her grey eyes stopping his mouth from working correctly. Then she started scooting away from him, and he blushed furiously.

“Uh, you looked cold,” he muttered sheepishly.

She studied him for a moment, then she surprised him and took the sweater out of his hand. She quickly put it on, zipping it up and burrowing her hands in the pockets. Peeta felt so proud of himself at that moment.

“Thank you,” she said, offering him a small smile that he returned. “My name is Katniss.”

“Mine is-uh, mine’s Peeta.” Katniss giggled as he fumbled over his words; his heart raced from the sound.

The bus pulled into the student drop off, cutting their conversation short, and she disappeared amongst the other students filing off the bus. Peeta was the last one off, aside from the high schoolers that didn’t get off at this stop.

“Have a nice day, Peet!” Rye shouted from one of the back windows. Peeta was too busy looking for his Capitol City baseball sweater in the crowd to acknowledge his brother.

But he couldn’t find her.

During lunch, he searched again for the girl with pigtails. He spotted her sitting by herself near the back of the cafeteria, and he started walking toward her until a tall eighth-grade boy took the seat aside her. The older boy squashed what inconsiderable amount of courage he had, so Peeta turned around to sit with Delly and a few of her friends.

Delly enthusiastically introduced him to her new friends. “Peeta, this is Thom and Bristel.”

By the end of the day, he’d given up. However, as he walked out of the school, Katniss accidentally bumped into him and gave him an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, Peeta.” Again, his heart raced. Then she ran toward the bus, the hood of his sweater bouncing against the top of her backpack.

Peeta walked all the way to the bakery with a smile on his face, despite the cold.

When he stepped into the bakery, dad took immediate notice of his missing sweater. “Son, where’s your sweater? It’s cold outside; you’re going to get sick.” But Peeta didn’t care, hiding his smile as he walked towards dad’s office.

He never got his sweater back after that day.

* * *

“Peet, hurry up! We’re going to be late!” Rye yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

Peeta threw the rest of his baseball gear into his duffel bag and slipped his sweater over his head. Then he slung the bag over his shoulder and ran downstairs, taking two steps at a time until he safely reached the bottom. In the kitchen, dad slid a bag of bagels across the island counter for him and Rye.

“I can’t believe this will be your last first day of middle school,” dad said as he grabbed two orange juice boxes from the fridge. He grabbed them once dad placed them on the counter. “All of my boys are growing up.”

“It’ll be okay, dad.”

Rye emerged from the garage door; eyes narrowed in Peeta’s direction. “Yeah, he’s growing up, but he’ll always be your little boy. Now can we go before Jo kills me for making her late?”

Peeta’s face flushed, and he snatched the bag of bagels from the counter. “Shut up, Rye.” He brushed past his brother as he walked into the garage, tugging open the passenger door to Rye’s jalopy.

“Peeta, don’t forget your backpack!”

They picked up Jo on the way to the middle school, and Peeta grumbled when she pushed him to take the back seat, stating that she always takes shotgun. He complained about it but switched seats. Once they started moving, she shifted in her seat to grin at him, tapping the bill of his baseball cap. “Wow, what happened to my shy Peeta over the summer?”

Peeta rolled his eyes, ignoring her.

“Come on, Jo, don’t antagonize him,” Rye told her.

Jo snorted and turned to face forward again. “You two are no longer any fun in the morning.”

Sometimes, he didn’t like Jo, mostly because Rye was enough to deal with. Not to mention he couldn’t figure out the relationship she had with his brother. Once, he’d caught them kissing on the couch in the living room when dad wasn’t home, but the pair never behaved like a couple outside of that moment. Jo always talked about other boys, and Rye just seemed to listen. Eventually, Peeta shrugged it off, feeling like it was none of his business.

Yet, this didn’t stop Delly from asking questions.

“Maybe Rye is too scared to tell Jo that he likes her,” Delly said as they stopped in front of their lockers.

“I don’t talk to Rye about this kind of stuff, and I’m not going to snoop around his personal life.” Peeta opened his locker and stuffed his duffel bag inside, expecting she’d get the hint he didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

She sighed dramatically. “Well, I think they’re idiots.”

“Yeah,” he answered after he closed his locker. “They are idiots. Now, let’s go to class. I can’t be late. I have Coin first hour.” Coin was the science teacher, and it wasn’t uncommon for her to mark you tardy if you weren’t in your seat by the bell.

Delly walked with him to class, stopping first to peek inside the room to see if she recognized anyone. She reminded him of where they were sitting for lunch. Then she continued down the hallway towards the band room.

At lunch, Peeta listened to Thom talk about his summer at the beach, which turned out to be less interesting than he expected. In between stories, Peeta discreetly glanced around the lunchroom to see if he could find Katniss.

They never talked, except for a few times since he let her borrow his sweater on the bus in sixth grade. Their circle of friends didn’t exactly overlap. Peeta joined sports, and Katniss hung out with the quiet type. But every time he had the opportunity to talk to her, his determination would rapidly dwindle, and he’d flee before she caught him staring.

“Oh no, here comes, Glimmer,” Delly whispered. All three of them look in the direction of the cafeteria doors where Glimmer stood, a devious look on her face. “I overheard my mom say that her parents went through a bitter divorce over the summer.”

“I know she’s terrible, but I feel bad for her,” Bristel said, before turning to continue picking at her food. Peeta almost felt bad, too, if he hadn’t witnessed Glimmer pick on Delly since the third grade. He knew she didn’t need a reason to find joy in mistreating others.

Delly shrugged. “I feel bad for whoever gets stuck in her path this year.”

Unfortunately, the person subjected to Glimmer’s wrath was none other than Katniss.

She was coming from the food line, not noticing Glimmer until the taller girl purposefully bumped her elbow against Katniss’s tray. The contents spilled all over Katniss’s shirt, and then the tray clattered to the floor. She stiffened, all eyes in the room on her, weighing her reaction.

Glimmer feigned surprise. “Oops, I didn’t see you there.” She snickered when Katniss left her tray on the floor and rushed out of the cafeteria.

Peeta stood up, suddenly, and his friends regarded him with concern. “Uh, I’m going to head to the bathroom, Del. I’ll be right back.” He grabbed his sweatshirt from the chair beside him, trailing after Katniss.

He didn’t need to search long until he found Katniss sitting on the floor near the janitor’s closet. Her head rested on her knees, shoulders shaking with quiet emotion. Peeta realized that he didn’t know what to do. He’d only ever seen Delly cry; the difference was that she didn’t care when he saw it happen. Katniss might…

“Katniss?” he asked, moving closer with hesitation. Her head shot up, surprise rounding her watery eyes. “Are you okay?” She shook her head, sniffling into her milk covered sleeve. Peeta extended his sweatshirt out to her. “I-I thought you’d need this.”

For a moment, she seemed like she couldn’t decide whether to take it from him. Then she grabbed the sweatshirt out of his grasp, looking away from him. “You can’t fix everything, Peeta. Just… I want to be alone.”

His stomach plummeted… But he understood. “I- okay. I’m sorry,” he mumbled, then he turned and walked away.

Later that day, he found a note in his locker that said:

Thank you. - K

He smiled at the small piece of paper, staring at it longer than he meant to before Delly peaked over his shoulder to read it too. And that’s how his best friend found out he had a crush on the quiet girl with the braid.

* * *

“Peeta, don’t forget, Rye is picking you up after school today.”

Peeta nodded, refraining from looking over at his brother, who ate his breakfast quietly. He’d been arguing with Jo over the phone last night. Peeta had heard Rye’s sharp voice through the wall, asking Jo if she would be his girlfriend. But Peeta guessed Jo rejected Rye, or else he wouldn’t be sulking on the other end of the table.

“Mmm.” He was glad he had a mouthful of cereal; otherwise, he was sure he’d say something stupid. Like, bring up Jo.

Delly’s car horn blared outside their house around seven, and Peeta couldn’t rush out the door fast enough. He slid into the passenger seat of Delly’s small Beetle, making sure not to smack his head against the side of the car.

“Hey, thanks for the ride, Del. You really don’t mind that you’ll be hanging out at school an hour early?” he asked after he buckled in.

She shook her head, her bouncy ponytail bobbing atop her head. “I’ll probably hang out in the band room until the first-period bell rings.” Delly glanced over at him, and she must have noticed the panicked expression on his face because she smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, eyes on the road. I’m still getting the hang of this.” Peeta swallowed, his hand firmly gripping the handle on his door. “You look rough this morning. Do you want to talk about it?”

He picked at a small hole in his baseball pants. “Not really, but I imagine you’ll continue to ask otherwise.” Delly reached across the console to pinch his arm, making him laugh. “It’s not really my story to tell, but Rye asked Jo out.”

She gasped, almost glancing over until she stopped herself. “And that’s why you look like crap?”

Peeta snorted. “Wow, thanks… She said no, and then they pursued arguing about it for a few hours over the phone last night.”

“Weird. I always thought she liked him back.”

“Maybe you’re not as good a matchmaker as you think,” he joked.

“I doubt that…” Then she giggled. “Can you believe that we’re finally high schoolers? My mom wouldn’t stop giving me the talk last week.”

His ears grew hot, and he cleared his throat, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “Uh, yeah?”

Delly nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t think she’ll need to worry about any of that. Nobody likes a band geek.”

“Come on, Del. That’s not true; you’re pretty.” He meant it, but he thought his compliment sounded indifferent. Though Delly smiled, pink staining her cheeks.

“Thank you, Peeta.” They turned into the school parking lot a few moments later, and she grabbed his duffel bag for him as he struggled to step out of her small car. “I’ll see you at lunch, and say hi to Katniss for me,” she said with a smirk.

He rolled his eyes as they walked their separate ways.

Delly pestered him about talking to Katniss ever since he’d told her she hung out in the stands during practice. What she didn’t know was that Katniss wasn’t there to watch him. At tryouts, he’d found out that the tall eighth-grade boy who once sat with her during lunch was now the captain of the high school baseball team. Gale Hawthorne.

He didn’t care for him. Peeta thought him obnoxious, and often, it would get the entire team in trouble during practice. Today he said something inappropriate in front of Coach Abernathy, which earned them laps.

“Mellark, collect the bats,” the coach demanded before pulling open the doors to the locker room.

After collecting all the bats, Peeta remained the last one on the field. And he realized Katniss had moved from her spot in the stands to the dugout. She had her hair down today, dark tresses falling in smooth waves over her shoulders, the sun bringing out shades of red. For the first time, he could refer to someone as beautiful.

Peeta walked up to the dugout to place the bats in the bin that Abernathy kept there. When he turned back around, Katniss had hopped up onto the thick railing and her feet dangled against the paneling as she popped a lollipop into her mouth. Peeta felt warmth spread down his neck.

“Hey, Peeta,” she said, offering him a soft quirk of her mouth.

Had her lips always been that pink? He swallowed hard. “Hi, Katniss. Uh, how was your summer?”

She pushed her hair out of her face. “It was good. How was yours?”

“Good.” His first shot at having an actual conversation with her, and he was blowing it… Katniss tasted the red candy again, and he had to focus on something other than her mouth to stop his blood from moving in a southward direction. He chose to look at her sweater, and Peeta felt his heart, which had been leaping, drop sharply. She was wearing his sweater. “Nice sweater,” he said without thinking about what he was saying.

A pretty blush washed over her face, but she held his gaze. “I never properly thanked you last year, did I?”

He rubbed the back of his neck to steal himself. “I- It’s okay. You don’t need to thank me. Plus, you look better in that sweater than I ever did.”

Katniss blinked at him, and he quickly realized that he made a mistake.

“Katniss! Let’s go,” he heard Gale calling from the other side of the dugout.

She slipped down from the railing. But before she left, Katniss quickly leaned up and pressed her soft lips against his cheek. When she pulled away, she bit her lip, then she turned and left him staring after her in a daze.

He never saw Katniss at practice again after that.

* * *

It was the week of homecoming. Peeta didn’t care for it normally, but now that he was a senior, this homecoming felt bittersweet. Though, he hated the number of ribbons the cheer team tacked to athlete’s lockers. He ended up ripping the bows off his locker to reach the lock, before tossing them inside.

“Hey, Peeta.” The voice startled him, making him jump. He closed his locker to find Madge Undersee on the other side of the door.

Madge was captain of the cheer team- probably the second most animated person he’d met, aside from Delly. But ever since Thom dared them to kiss during a game of truth or dare from the summer, she started showing up everywhere. First, it was the bakery. Now randomly after some of his classes… Or at his locker. Not that he didn’t like Madge- he did. It’s just… he liked someone else.

“Uh, hey, Madge.”

She looked at the door of his locker, then. “What happened to your corsage?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. She’d caught him. “It fell off,” he lied.

“Oh,” Madge tucked a loose blonde hair behind her ear. “Well, I can fix it later for you if you want.”

Thankfully, the bell for their first period rang, saving him. “I should go to class- ”

Her face cheered up. “Great, I’ll join you.” Apparently, luck wasn’t on his side.

At lunch, he got into an argument with Thom about his stupid game of truth or dare. “I thought you liked her?”

“When did I ever say that?” Peeta asked incredulously.

Thom raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t have to. Your actions spoke loud enough.”

“We were talking about your party in front of her. I was being nice when I invited her,” he bit out, feeling annoyed. “I’m tired of you and Delly always playing matchmaker.”

He fiercely bit into his apple, slumping in his seat. Then Delly came up to the lunch table, and he nearly choked on his mouthful of apple. There, next to her, stood none other than Katniss. She looked every ounce of uncomfortable when their table looked over at them. Delly, on the other hand, shot Peeta a mischievous smile. He recognized that smile. She had a scheme up her sleeve.

“Hey guys, this is Katniss. She’s going to sit with us today.” Nobody seemed bothered, nor did Delly give them any room to object. She grabbed Katniss’s shirtsleeve and pulled them down to Peeta’s side of the table, claiming the two empty chairs across from him. “Peeta, Thom, have you met Katniss?”

He froze when Katniss’s grey eyes landed on him, stopping all speech. But Thom spoke up first. “Yeah, weren’t you Hawthorne’s girlfriend?”

A deep blush spread across her face, and as he waited for her answer, Peeta held his breath. “Uh, no. We were- are childhood friends. But you’re not the first to ask.” Suddenly, he felt like an idiot. How did he never think of the possibility that she and Gale were only friends? Scratch that- he was a huge idiot.

“So, Katniss,” Delly grabbed her attention. “Are you going to the homecoming game tonight? Thom’s playing, but you can sit with Peeta and me.”

Katniss sent a shy glance his way. “Yeah, okay.”

They all met at the grandstands around seven, Delly growing very obvious in her intentions when she suggested he sit next to Katniss.

“Uh, Delly, Katniss can sit wherever she wants,” he said nervously.

Though, Katniss shrugged and took the seat right beside him. She smiled up at him. “It’s okay. Here is fine.”

During the game, he could hardly concentrate. All he could think about was how close her thigh was to his. Or how she’d occasionally brush him with her elbow. He found out she has a twinkling laugh, one that made you smile from the sound. She also preferred yellow Starbursts, offering him and Delly the flavors she didn’t like.

It’s the most he’d learned about her, and this was only through observation.

Three minutes until the end of the last quarter, he noticed Katniss began shivering. “Are you cold?” he asked.

She shook her head, even though her nose had turned red over the course of the game. “No.”

“Here.” He took off his sweater and held it out for her. “I’m warm, anyway.”

For the first time, she took the sweater without hesitation and snuggled into it once it was on. “Thank you.” Over her head, Delly winked at him.

He ignored her and smiled down at Katniss. Did she always have freckles?

The moment shattered, though, by a voice he hadn’t expected.

“Hey, there you are!” Madge leaned against the railing on the stairs, before coming to wedge herself between him and Katniss. “Did you enjoy the game?”

He rubbed the back of his neck because he had been too preoccupied to pay attention to the game. “Uh, yeah. Another win.”

She smiled. “Oh! Since it’s our last homecoming, we want to get a picture of our athletes together for the yearbook.” Then she finally acknowledged Katniss and Delly. “If your friends don’t mind. It’ll be quick!”

Peeta wanted to sigh in irritation but didn’t want to seem like a jerk, so he nodded. He looked back at Delly and Katniss. “I’ll be right back, okay?” Delly frowned at him, giving him her “what the hell” look. But Madge had already grabbed his hand and pulled him in the direction of the field.

Between different poses to fit everyone into the picture, and a few who were uncooperative, the pictures turned out to take longer than he expected. So, when he looked back up at the stands for Katniss and Delly, they were gone.

His shoulders sagged. His heart sank. Another chance lost.

* * *

He moved to Capitol State to study teaching. He could have moved out of state to play baseball, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready to take that step yet. Plus, the Capitol was enough of a shock for him. He always thought Panem to be big for the longest time, but it didn’t compare to the dancing lights of a city this size.

There were a few of his classmates he recognized around campus, and some he even had classes with. He caught up with people he hadn’t talked to since the beginning of their senior year. He still kept in touch with Delly, who went to Panem University for music- she practically demanded it of him.

“Oh, I can come to visit you this weekend,” she squealed through the phone, excited about coming to see the city.

“Yeah, that’d be great. There’s this place here that I think you’d like.” He stepped into the coffee shop on campus, the smell of coffee beans warming him. He placed his order while he listened to Delly gossip, and when he turned around, he accidentally bumped into the next person waiting in line.

“Oh, I’m sorry-” he stopped when he recognized who it was. “Uh, Delly, I’ll call you back.”

“Wait-”

He tucked his phone into his back pocket. “Katniss, how are you?”

Peeta saw the shock register on her face before a smile played on her lips. “I’m doing great. How are you?”

“I, uh, I’m going to school for teaching.”

Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “Really?”

He nodded. “Yeah, I’m actually heading to my next class in Main.”

“I’ll walk with you. My next class is that way.”

Was he still breathing? He took a deep breath. “Okay, sure.”

They wait for their orders before walking back into the cool fall air. He discovered that Katniss was studying nursing. He also learned that her mom was a nurse, and that she had a younger sister named Prim. Her father worked in a coal mining business; his career path slowly affecting his lungs.

He’d spent all these years with missed opportunities, that when they reached his stop, he wanted to know everything there was to know about her.

“Wait, Katniss,” he called after her as she walked away. She stopped, turning back toward him. “Uh, do you maybe want to grab dinner tomorrow? I can pick you up around eight.” Part of him feared that she’d say no, or choose that moment to announce that she had a boyfriend.

Yet, a smile split across her face, and she nodded. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

Later that night, when he called Delly, he found out that his meeting Katniss at the coffee shop wasn’t a coincidence. And for once, he was glad that his best friend stepped in to play matchmaker.

* * *

He stood in front of the closet mirror, fidgeting with his tie for the third time that morning.

“Do you need help with that?”

Peeta looked over at Katniss, who watched him in the doorway- a slight twinkle in her eye. The sunlight peeked through the window behind her, creating a natural halo. She was beautiful, he thought. Without waiting for his answer, she walked up to him, undoing his messy attempt with nimble fingers. When she fixed the knot, she looked up at him and gave him a small smile.

“Are you still in shock about Rye and Jo’s baby announcement?” Her voice was teasing as she smoothed her fingers over the end of his tie.

The announcement had caught him off guard. He’d known that they were dating, but he didn’t think things were serious between the couple. However, Rye and Jo seemed equally excited about the news, and he couldn’t be anything other than happy for them.

“No,” he answered finally, “it’s not that.”

Katniss’s expression softened, and she reached up to kiss his chin.“Don’t worry about today. I know you’ll be great. That guy at work doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

He chuckled. “I don’t think I’m worried about a bunch of eighth-graders turning into little gremlins.”

“I suppose, but I remember a lot of these gremlins- figuratively speaking.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him. That’s when he realized what she was wearing. “You have a knack for stealing my sweaters, don’t you?” he asked.

Her mouth perked playfully. “You got them back, eventually, but I remember you telling me I looked good in your sweaters.”

“Did I now?”

She poked his ribs. “You might have been too preoccupied with a piece of candy to remember.” Of course, he remembered. It was the first time he’d felt her lips against his skin. That very memory played in his fantasies for years.

“I was a teenage boy. What do you expect?”

Katniss gave a musical peal of laughter, the sound filling their small closet. Then she reached up, touching her lips to his.

They kissed, slow and soft. The world fading away around them. Peeta wanted to have mornings like this with her for the rest of his life. He pictured Katniss’s stomach steadily rounding with their child, children running around their feet. They’d have her dark hair and silvery eyes.

He wanted this with her.

If she’d have him, he was going to marry her.


End file.
